Meat Packaging

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Meat Packaging

• Product Requirements
• 1. fresh --- uncured, uncooked, not frozen
• a. distribution
• good oxygen barrier
• good water barrier
• sealable
• thermoforms (heat shrink) to reduce purge and
  adjust to size
• puncture, tear resistant
• EVA/PVDC/EVA -- typical

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b. retail

• highly oxygen permeableor impermeable with CO
• good water barrier
• sealable
• clear, glossy
• tamper, handling resistant
• PVC typical
• unique idea is Cryovacs peelable

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2. fresh, cooked-packaged after cooked, slicing

• good barrier for both oxygen and water --- some
  may include aluminum foil and may include oxygen
  absorbers --- to prevent WOF and rancid flavors
• nylon/PVDC/nylon/EVA typical
• Cook-in films
• good barrier as above
• adhesion properties for product surface to
  prevent cook purge
• Surlyn ionomers typical

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3. fresh, frozen (i.e. poultry)

• good oxygen barrier, medium water barrier at
  freezer temperature
• shrinkable (prevent frost-recrystallization)
• PE is typical

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4. cured, cooked

• good barrier to oxygen and water
• sealable and resealable
• thermoformable
• puncture, tear, tamper resistant
• clear, glossy
• nylon/PVDC/PE typical

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Packaging films

• suppliers must provide user with a Letter of
  Guaranty which shows that the film complies with
  FDA and USDA requirements for end use. An upper
  limit of temperature is included to insure no
  migration of film components to product.
• this is a current limitation for irradiation
  processing. FDA approves packaging films and only
  Cryovacs ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) is approved
  for e-beam processing

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films may be obtained as bags, pouches, roll
stock, etc., virtually all are laminates or
coextrusions and combinations of the basic film
types
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permeability is measured (methods by ASTM)

• for gasescc/sq m/24hrs at 1 atm, 23oC, 0 RH
• for water vaporg/sq m/24 hrs at 1 atm, 38oC,
  100 RH
• typical levels would be
• fresh meat (retail) - 5000 cc
• distribution (vacuum) - less than 30-40 cc
• cooked or cooked, cured
• less than 10-15 cc

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also measure

• mechanical strength
• 1. tensile strength
• 2. puncture resistance
• 3. elongation (stretching)
• optical properties
• clarity (haze) and gloss
• use devices with 45 degree angle (specular angle)

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Barrier properties also important to modified
atmosphere (MAP) systems

• carbon dioxide (vacuum packed fresh meat is
  actually a carbon dioxide atmosphere) , nitrogen,
  oxygen, carbon monoxide

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Other factors to consider for barrier properties

• 1. film thickness
• most are 1-4 mil (0.001 inch) thick
• gauge 1/100 mil (50 gauge 0.5 mil)
• 2. temperature
• permeability increases as temperature increases

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3. relative humidity

• 100 for package containing fresh meat